New Hampshire State Bird - Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus

By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.

VOLUME III.

THE PURPLE FINCH.
[Purple Finch.]

ERYTHROSPIZA PURPUREA, Gmel.
[Carpodacus purpureus.]

PLATE CXCVI.--MALE AND FEMALE.

From the beginning of November until April, flocks of the Purple Finch,
consisting of from six to twenty individuals, are seen throughout the whole
of Louisiana and the adjoining States. They fly compactly, with an undulating
motion, similar to that of the Common Greenfinch of Europe. They alight
all at once, and after a moment of rest, and as if frightened, all take
to wing again, make a circuit of no great extent, and return to the tree
from which they had thus started, or settle upon one near it. Immediately
after this, every individual is seen making its way toward the extremities
of the branches, husking the buds with great tact, and eating their internal
portion. In doing this, they hang like so many Titmice, or stretch out
their necks to reach the buds below. Although they are quite friendly among
themselves during their flight, or while sitting without looking after
food, yet, when they are feeding, the moment one goes near another, it
is strenuously warned to keep off by certain unequivocal marks of displeasure,
such as the erection of the feathers of the head and the opening of the
mouth. Should this intimation be disregarded, the stronger or more daring,
of the two drives off the other to a different part of the tree. They feed
in this manner principally in the morning, and afterwards retire to the
interior of the woods. Towards sunset they reappear, fly about the skirts
of the fields and along the woods, until, having made choice of a tree,
they alight, and, as soon as each bird has chosen a situation, stand still,
look about them, plume themselves, and make short sallies after flies and
other insects, but without interfering with each other. They frequently
utter a single rather mellow clink, and are seen occupied in this manner
until near sunset, when they again fly off to the interior of the forest.
I one night surprised a party of them roosting in a small holly tree, as
I happened to be brushing by it. In their consternation they suddenly started
all together, and in the same direction, when, not knowing what birds they
were, I shot at them and brought down two.

It is remarkable that, at this season, males in full beauty of plumage
are as numerous as during the summer months in far more northern parts,
where they breed; and you may see different gradations of plumage, from
the dingy greenish-brown of the female and young to the richest tints of
the oldest and handsomest male; while along with these there are others
which, by my habit of examining birds, I knew to be old, and which are
of a yellowish-green, neither the colour of the young males, nor that of
the females, but a mixture of all.

The song of the Purple Finch is sweet and continued, and I have enjoyed
it much during the spring and summer months, in the mountainous parts of
Pennsylvania, where it occasionally breeds, particularly about the Great
Pine Forest, where, although I did not find any nests, I saw pairs of these
birds flying about and feeding their young, which could not have been many
days out, and were not fully fledged. The food which they carried to their
young consisted of insects, small berries, and the juicy part of the cones
of the spruce pine.

They frequently associate with the Common Cross-bills, feeding on the
same trees, and like them are at times fond of alighting against the mud
used for closing the log-houses. They are seldom seen on the ground, although
their motions there are by no means embarrassed. They are considered as
destructive birds by some farmers, who accuse them of committing great
depredations on the blossoms of their fruit-trees. I never observed this
in Louisiana, where they remain long after the peach and pear trees are
in full bloom. I have eaten many of them, and consider their flesh equal
to that of any other small bird, excepting the Rice Bunting.

This species was seen by Dr. RICHARDSON on the banks of the Saskatchewan
river only, where it feeds on willow-buds. It arrives there in May, and
resides during the summer. The eggs have been procured in the State of
Massachusetts by my friend Dr. T. M. BREWER. They measure seven-eighths
and a quarter in length, four-eighths and a half in breadth, and are thus
of an elongated form, rather pointed. Their ground-colour is a bright emerald-green,
sparingly marked with dots and a few streaks of black, accumulated near
the apex, and some large marks of dull purple here and there over the whole
surface. The following, note is from the same gentleman:--"The passage
of the Purple Finch through this State on its way north, is so rapid, and
the number of those that stop to breed here so small, that I can furnish
nothing respecting its habits, except that there is good reason to believe
the accusation which has been brought against it, of injuring the blossoms
of fruit trees. Last year, the trees were in full bloom at the time this
bird was migrating, and I saw them plainly clinging to the branches, and
at work upon the blossoms; so that under some trees the ground was literally
strewed with the result of their destructiveness, although they did not
appear to feed on the blossoms. I have had the good fortune to meet with
its nest and eggs this season. Mr. CABOT found another, and is probably
the first naturalist who has done so. The nest which I found was built
in a cedar tree, at the distance of five feet from the ground. The tree
stood by itself in a small sandy pasture, which was sparingly covered with
half-grown cedars. The nest itself was rudely constructed: it was composed
externally of coarse grass and weeds, lined with fine roots of the same,
and little care seemed to have been bestowed on its completion. The diameter
of the exterior was 9 inches, the brim 3 inches, the depth 1 inch, the
external depth 2 inches, giving it thus a shallow or flattish appearance.
The eggs, four in number, were of a bright emerald-green."

I have found this species from Labrador to the Texas. Mr. NUTTALL and
Mr. TOWNSEND met with it on the Columbia river, and all the way to St.
Louis. In South Carolina, where it appears only during severe winters,
it feeds on the berries of the Virginian juniper, commonly called the red
cedar; and when the berries fall to the ground, it alights to secure them.
Dr. BACHMAN has kept it in aviaries, where it became very fat, silent,
and only uttered its usual simple feeble note. After moulting, the males
assumed the plumage of the females. The next spring a very slight appearance
of red was seen, but they never recovered their original brilliancy, and
it was difficult to distinguish the sexes. It breeds sparingly in the northern
parts of the State of New York. In June 1837, I met with three pairs, within
a few miles of Waterford, that evidently had nests in the neighbourhood.

Bill Shortish, robust, bulging, conical, acute; upper mandible with
its dorsal outline a little convex, under mandible with its outline also
slightly convex, both broadly convex transversely, the edges straight to
near the base, where they are a little deflected. Nostrils basal, roundish,
open, partially concealed by the feathers. Head rather large. Neck short
and thick. Body full. Legs of moderate size; tarsus of the same length
as the middle toe, covered anteriorly with a longitudinal plate above and
a few transverse scutella below, posteriorly with an acutely angular longitudinal
plate; toes scutellate above, free, the lateral ones nearly equal; claws
slender, arched, compressed, acute, that of the hind toe not much larger.

Plumage compact above, blended beneath, wings of moderate length, third
and fourth primaries longest, second and first very little shorter. Tail
forked. The lateral feathers curved outwards toward the tip.

Bill deep brown above, paler and tined with blue beneath. Iris blackish-brown.
Feet and claws brown. Head, neck, breast, back, and upper tail-coverts
of a rich deep lake, approaching to crimson on the head and neck, and fading
into rose-colour on the belly. Fore part of the back streaked with brown.
Quills and larger coverts deep brown, margined externally and tipped with
red. Tail feathers deep brown, similarly margined. A narrow band of cream-colour
across the forehead, margining the base of the upper mandible.

The young bird so closely resembles the adult female, that the same
description will answer for both. The general colour of the upper parts
is brownish-olive, streaked with dark brown. There is a broadish white
line over the eye, and another from the commissure of the gap backwards.
The under parts are greyish-white, the sides streaked with brown. The quills
and tail-feathers are dark brown, margined with olive.